Juniper and Daniel climbed in. They held their mewing packages tight against their chests. How do you hold a kitten so it won’t make noise? Not so tight it hurts, but close enough that it feels safe. “Firm but light” Daniel said. And Juniper repeated that over and over in her head. “Firm but light.”
Daniel’s ward seemed to have settled. “How did he figure it
out so quickly?” Juniper wondered. He always had a way with animals and
secretly she figured he had a way to speak with the tiny cats. He promised milk
and fish and naps if it would stay quiet. He must have found a way to explain
that if Mama found out it was the bag for them. It hard enough for Juniper to
understand Mama and why she was the way she was, let alone the bag and how it
also meant the river and never coming back. When Daniel explained it to her he
had been so very patient, that’s what she admired most about him.
The little one in her hands had begun to paw it’s way free,
so Juniper squeezed tighter. She had immediately named her kitty Orange
Blossom, because of the color. Just as quickly she had regretted her impulsive
decision after Daniel studied the other and seemed to pull it’s name from the
animal’s soul. “Gwendolyn” he whispered. As Orange Blossom wriggled more,
Juniper wriggled more until a sense of unease permeated the cupboard that was
their hiding spot. “Stupid Orange Blossom, don’t you get it?” Juniper thought.
“If Mama finds you…” Daniel caught her eye, “He knows you’re scared.”
They’re had much ado in the previous weeks training not to
be scared. For Juniper it was best to start with the breath, then the
heartbeat, then maybe picture a nice place. The order didn’t matter too much.
But the effect was the same. The feeling of being a few sizes larger and
connected to something larger than the tiny rock inside her where her soul
lived.
When Orange Blossom had relaxed into the crook of her arm,
when Juniper realized that she had finally relaxed herself, when the whole of
the house held it’s breath as the doorknob had begun to rattle and twist.
